Bathroom of the Week: San Francisco Victorian Style in Colorado
A couple worked with designers they found on Houzz to transform their dark and dated 1990s master bathroom
In 2002, Mike and Kim Keating purchased a traditional 1990s suburban-style home in Littleton, Colorado. In 2010, their friends helped them do minor updates to the home. More recently they embarked on making major changes to the entire house that required professional help and more careful planning and execution.
At the top of the to-do list was the couple’s dark and dated upstairs master bathroom. The couple found designers Alexis Rubin and Kristina Garcia-Stack on Houzz and hired them to transform this bathroom and most of the rest of their home into a more light, bright design with touches of Victorian flair that remind Kim of part of her childhood spent in San Francisco.
At the top of the to-do list was the couple’s dark and dated upstairs master bathroom. The couple found designers Alexis Rubin and Kristina Garcia-Stack on Houzz and hired them to transform this bathroom and most of the rest of their home into a more light, bright design with touches of Victorian flair that remind Kim of part of her childhood spent in San Francisco.
After: Taken from about the same angle, this photo shows the new semi-custom double vanity with a peppercorn stain. Lights installed near the toekick make the vanity appear likes it’s floating and provide a nice night light. Builder Kent Lodge was able to provide the marble-look countertop for free because it was left over from another job site. “It turns out to be exactly what I would have chosen,” Kim says.
The extra-deep (24 inches) vanity includes a pullout you would normally see in a kitchen for trash and recycling bins, as well as plenty of soft-close. “Since we moved in, we always had a wicker waste basket and there was nowhere to put it,” Kim says. “The pullout garbage is just awesome.”
The updated color scheme of white, gray and blue includes soft gray walls (Fusion by Benjamin Moore) and classic white trim (Swiss Coffee by Behr) for a crisp and clean look. Designers Rubin and Garcia-Stack used various marble tile for the floors and shower walls to give the updated bathroom a timeless look. They played with tile size and pattern to create character and distinctive style. “We wanted the charm and character and nostalgia of the Victorian era, but in a modern and updated way,” Rubin says.
Vanity: Showplace Cabinetry Design Center
The extra-deep (24 inches) vanity includes a pullout you would normally see in a kitchen for trash and recycling bins, as well as plenty of soft-close. “Since we moved in, we always had a wicker waste basket and there was nowhere to put it,” Kim says. “The pullout garbage is just awesome.”
The updated color scheme of white, gray and blue includes soft gray walls (Fusion by Benjamin Moore) and classic white trim (Swiss Coffee by Behr) for a crisp and clean look. Designers Rubin and Garcia-Stack used various marble tile for the floors and shower walls to give the updated bathroom a timeless look. They played with tile size and pattern to create character and distinctive style. “We wanted the charm and character and nostalgia of the Victorian era, but in a modern and updated way,” Rubin says.
Vanity: Showplace Cabinetry Design Center
Before: The existing jetted tub and shower took up a lot of valuable square footage. “The sheer bulkiness of the old shower was awkward,” Kim says. “It was an eyesore. Not to mention the shower door never fully closed.”
After: The designers kept the footprint of the bathroom the same for the most part, but they redesigned the layout to accommodate a new curbless walk-in shower with frameless glass and a freestanding acrylic air-jet tub. Both of these design decisions combined to create a much airier feeling. “Because they have his-and-her bathrooms in the house, the shower is something she uses every day and the tub is something he uses only on occasion,” Rubin says.
Shaker-style wainscoting painted white and treated to hold up in wet environments adds some definition around the tub across from the vanity, and it coordinates with other Victorian details. “I saw a house on Houzz with wainscoting and thought ‘I want this everywhere,’” Kim says. “Without that wainscoting there, it would be lacking that finishing touch.”
Tub: Evanescence Oval 6636, BainUltra
Shaker-style wainscoting painted white and treated to hold up in wet environments adds some definition around the tub across from the vanity, and it coordinates with other Victorian details. “I saw a house on Houzz with wainscoting and thought ‘I want this everywhere,’” Kim says. “Without that wainscoting there, it would be lacking that finishing touch.”
Tub: Evanescence Oval 6636, BainUltra
The statement floor includes Sublime Plume Carrara Bella marble mosaic tiles with beautiful exaggerated interlocking curves. “She fell in love with it right away when she saw it in the showroom here — it was an automatic yes,” Rubin says. “It is elegant and feminine without being overly ornate. It fits perfectly into a traditional space with a bit of a contemporary shine to it.”
Kim says she loves the texture of the tiled floor. “It really gives a lot of depth to the bathroom when you see it in person,” she says.
Kim says she loves the texture of the tiled floor. “It really gives a lot of depth to the bathroom when you see it in person,” she says.
The center mirror above the vanity transforms into a TV when turned on, so Kim can catch up on news or a favorite show when getting ready in the morning. “I’m a news junkie and love TV, so I don’t want to miss anything,” Kim says. “It makes time go by when you’re getting ready. I first saw it in a hotel in Vegas.”
A parchment glass four-light chandelier with different textures over the freestanding tub has a French Country vibe. “It’s an element of whimsy in this space,” Rubin says.
The shower with fixed and hand-held shower heads features rectangle marble tile on the two side walls and an accent tile on the back wall that’s a mix of marble and blue-toned art glass.
Honed 12-by-24-inch Carrara marble tiles on the shower floor slope toward the drain so water doesn’t pool. The existing window in the shower was updated and incorporated into the new design.
Honed 12-by-24-inch Carrara marble tiles on the shower floor slope toward the drain so water doesn’t pool. The existing window in the shower was updated and incorporated into the new design.
The vanity’s white vitreous china undermount sinks include oil-rubbed bronze faucets with French detailing that Kim thought pulled the look of the room together. “We took her to a showroom, and immediately she was attracted to the Victorian style of the faucets and the porcelain inlays with the French decorative script,” Rubin says.
Sinks: Devonshire, Kohler; faucets: Weymouth, Moen
Sinks: Devonshire, Kohler; faucets: Weymouth, Moen
The delicate points and gentle curves of the quatrefoil oil-rubbed bronze knobs used for the vanity’s cabinets and drawers also coordinate with the French-Victorian feel of the room. “It’s a subtle nod to a historic pattern,” Rubin says. “The whole bathroom is really a nod to a San Francisco Victorian with all the modern updates.”
Cabinet hardware: Grace Revitalize Knob, Amerock
Cabinet hardware: Grace Revitalize Knob, Amerock
The freestanding tub includes a Victorian-style oil-rubbed bronze bathtub faucet with individual controls over the water temperature that reminded Kim of an old-fashioned phone her mother once had. “The really fun part about this fixture is the unique styling of the hand-held piece,” Rubin says. “When she saw it, she thought it felt authentically Victorian.”
Kim’s experience of falling in love with specific details ultimately drove this project. “Every little piece we found just came together,” Kim says. “It’s so clean and has a lot of personality. It’s a nice, calming retreat.”
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Kim’s experience of falling in love with specific details ultimately drove this project. “Every little piece we found just came together,” Kim says. “It’s so clean and has a lot of personality. It’s a nice, calming retreat.”
More on Houzz
Read more bathroom stories
Find a bathroom designer
Shop for your bathroom
Master Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: Mike and Kim Keating
Location: Littleton, Colorado
Size: About 125 square feet (12 square meters)
Designers: Alexis Rubin and Kristina Garcia-Stack of Denver Design Group
Builder: Kent Lodge of Craftman’s Touch Construction
Before: The original upstairs bathroom featured beige travertine walls with dark green trim, a dark wood vanity, dated lights and a beige travertine tile floor, all of which contributed to an overwhelmingly heavy feeling. “The tile was eating the room,” Kim says.
The bathroom also included a built-in jetted corner tub that required a user to climb into the tub to lift and plug the drain. Meanwhile, a walk-in shower with frosted-glass doors had some structural issues, resulting in leaks that created water spots and eventually water damage in the ceiling of the dining room below.
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